Surf and Turf

A new post?!? No way! Ok, so I'm trying again......but I make no promises! These recipes I found this weekend and tried them out together for a fabulous Surf and Turf meal. They are both so incredibly easy. I got my steaks and big, beautiful prawns at Costco and was not disappointed! Great flavors!

Steaks

1 tablespoon McCormick® Grill Mates® Montreal Steak Seasoning or 1 tablespoon McCormick® Grill Mates® 25% Less Sodium Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon McCormick® Onion Powder1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Oregano Leaves
1 pound boneless beef sirloin, porterhouse or New York strip steak
1. Mix Steak Seasoning, sugar, onion powder and oregano in small bowl until well blended. Generously season steak with spice mixture.

2. Grill over medium-high heat 8 to 10 minutes per side or until desired doneness.
Test Kitchen Tip: Try with the newer cuts of steak available in the meat case, such as hanger steak, round sirloin tip center steak, shoulder top blade steak (flat iron), shoulder petite tender steak or shoulder center steak (ranch steak).

per servingCalories: 174
Fat: 6 g
Carbohydrates: 4 g
Cholesterol: 54 mg
Sodium: 435 mg
Fiber: g
Protein: 26 g

Prawns
1 pound freshwater prawns in their shells
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crumbled
Instructions: Clean prawns.
Combine cleaned prawns with lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary in a glass or other non-reactive bowl. Cover and marinate for about 1 hour in the refrigerator, stirring periodically.
Preheat a large nonstick over high heat. Transfer the contents of the bowl to the hot pan. Cook the prawns for about 2 minutes on each side, until the shells turn bright pink and the meat is opaque.
Remove to a serving bowl and set another alongside for shells.

Tomato Soup and Oyster Crackers

Hearty Tomato Soup--Better than Campbells!

4 Whole Peeled Tomatoes, frozen or fresh (peeling tomatoes is easier if frozen--a quick run under water pulls the peel right off. fresh tomatoes must be blanched)

4 Cups Tomato Juice

½ Cup Heavy Cream

1 Onion, chopped

4 Celery Stalks, chopped

2 Peeled Carrots, chopped

2 Cloves Garlic, chopped

1 Cup Chicken Broth or Vegetable Broth

1 Bay Leaf

Salt, Fresh Ground Pepper and Basil (fresh or dried) to taste

2 Tablespoons sugar (optional)

Heat tomatoes and tomato juice in a stockpot over medium heat to soften. Meanwhile, sauté onion, celery, carrots and garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until tender. Combine softened tomatoes and sautéed vegetables in blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Return to pot and add heavy cream, broth and remaining seasonings. Simmer over medium heat 15 minutes.

Seasoned Soup Crackers

2 Bags Oyster Crackers

¾ Cup Oil

1 Package Dry Ranch Buttermilk Salad Dressing

1 Teaspoon Dill, dried

¼ Teaspoon Garlic Powder

¼ Teaspoon Lemon Pepper

Heat oven to 250 degrees F. Combine oil with seasonings and coat oyster crackers in a large mixing bowl. Transfer to cookie sheet and bake 20 minutes, stirring half way through.

Fruit Salsa

I got this recipe from a gal I work with, she brought it into the office and it was delicious!!! I made it last night to have with dinner...Oh it's great! Some other things to try with this are pears, blueberries and maybe even some bananas. You could also forego the chips and eat it on some shortcake (like strawberry shortcake)!!!

Annie's Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips Recipe from Allrecipes.com

This delicious salsa made with fresh kiwis, apples and berries is a sweet, succulent treat when served on homemade cinnamon tortilla chips. Enjoy it as a summer appetizer or an easy dessert.

Prep Time: 15 Min 
Cook Time: 10 Min
Ready In: 45 Min
 
Ingredients
2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2 Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and diced
8 ounces raspberries
1 pound strawberries
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor

10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
butter flavored cooking spray
2 cups cinnamon sugar

Directions
In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, Golden Delicious apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Coat one side of each flour tortilla with butter flavored cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray.

Bake in the preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining tortilla wedges. Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes. Serve with chilled fruit mixture.

Smoothies

This is from an article I write for our local magazine and has Kevin's delicious smoothie recipes on it. Slowly I am getting this blog back up and running!

I recently started a new killer class at our gym that uses steps, barbells, ankle bands, and just about every tool available for a “push it to the limit” workout. More than once I have considered that the instructor had sights on all of us training to be Olympians. At the end of this grueling but exhilarating workout my body craves replenishment, refreshment, and most of all to feel as healthy inside as it feels outside. For this, there is only one cure: a creamy fruit smoothie, which tastes even better when I don’t have to make it myself. However, buying a smoothie after each workout can be quite damaging to the allowance my husband and I give ourselves twice a month.

Thankfully I have an excellent smoothie maker in my own home, one that is both charming, handsome, and does the laundry to boot. For years my husband has concocted and blended smoothies, never measuring, adding what moved him at the moment, and changing up ingredients over the years. I prefer to have a recipe to follow so anytime he travels I miss the smoothies almost as much as I miss him.

For as long as he has made them I, along with others, have asked him to write down the recipe and until now he has only responded with a mysterious shrug. Finally succeeding, I am happy to share this refreshing and healthy treat. For juices we prefer V8 Fusion or V8 Splash. Orange juice also works well. Frozen fruits such as blueberries, strawberries and mangos or peaches go well together. Kashi makes a great protein powder called GoLean and we use the vanilla flavor.

Kevin’s Ultimate Fruit Smoothie

• 1 cup vanilla soy milk or skim milk
• 1 cup of your favorite fruit juice.
• 1 large ripe banana
• 2 cups of your favorite frozen fruit.
• Optional – 2 full spoonfuls of vanilla or plain yogurt
• Optional – 1 scoop of protein powder

Add everything to the blender. If you desire a smoothie that is not quite as thick and cold, defrost the fruit in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Add small amounts of milk or fruit juice to achieve desired thickness. Blend until smooth.

Kevin’s Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

• 2 cups skim or soy milk
• 1 cup ice
• 1 large ripe banana
• A few full spoonfuls of peanut butter
• Optional – 1 scoop protein powder
• Optional – 4 Tablespoons chocolate drink mix

Add to the blender and mix.

Super Yummy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

It's that time of year to get the canned pumpkin cooking in your kitchen! We're not big pumpkin pie eaters unless there's a good amount of whipped cream available, but like this recipe for a holiday pumpkin treat. Great warmed with butter or just by itself, with a big glass of milk......mmmmmm

15 oz canned pumpkin
4 eggs
1 Cup vegetable oil
2/3 Cup water
3 Cups white sugar (I sub one cup with brown sugar)
3 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
12 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 4 7x3 loaf pans. I actually always have enough for one additional 8x4 loaf, so keep this in mind. Or grease muffin tins.

In a large bowl mix pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl whisk dry ingredients, but not chips.

Add the dry to the wet ingredients and mix until just blended. Add chocolate chips and mix thoroughly. Pour into prepared pans.

Bake for about 50 minutes, or 35 minutes for muffins. Done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

This recipe gets better with age so plan to make a day ahead if possible. Makes a lot so share with friends!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

In effort to save a buck, I began looking for homemade cleaning products and found this recipe a few months ago. I've used it through two batches now and it costs, according to the website listed below, one cent per load! I've gotten about 64 loads from each batch, and found this quite a savings from store bought detergents. Scented oils can be added if you like but I've not done so. Seems to clean just as well as store bought detergent, and with just this little bit of effort I feel I am contributing to maintaining our budget!

1/3 bar Fels Naptha which can be found in the laundry detergent aisle
½ cup washing soda
½ cup borax powder
~You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size~

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

**A few things to note about the soap**

~The finished soap will not be a solid gel. It will be more of a watery gel that has been accurately described as an "egg noodle soup" look.

~The soap is a low sudsing soap. So if you don’t see suds, that is ok. Suds are not what does the cleaning, it is the ingredients in the soap.

recipe found at http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm

Fresh Tomato and Cucumber Salad

As your backyard produce starts to hit it's peak, this is a great, tasty way to make sure it gets used. We have cucumbers coming out our ears, so we'll be having this for dinner tonight.



1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
10 fresh basil leaves
5 fresh oregano leaves
3 small fresh cucumbers (pickling or thin slicing)
2 large beefsteak tomatoes, vine ripened

Mince garlic or press through a garlic press. Let garlic stand in balsamic and wine vinegars for 10 minutes (this takes the "edge" off). Discard any garlic which has green sprouts in the center, as the flavor is too sharp and bitter for this salad - use for another purpose.

Wash basil and oregano leaves (pick at noon time on a sunny day for best flavor). Chop and add to your best olive oil and allow to stand in oil while garlic marinates.

Meanwhile, prepare salad ingredients. Wash cucumbers and tomatoes. Peel cucumbers, leaving some of the peel (helps with digestion). Slice cucumbers into 1/4 inch cirlces.

With a sharp knife, remove stem and blossom end from tomatoes. Slice tomatoes into wedges, being careful not to crush and lose juice.

Place tomatoes and cucumbers in salad bowl and sprinkle with sea salt or kosher salt.

Combine olive oil with vinegars, whisking together well. Use to dress tomatoes and cucumbers; serve at room temperature.

Variations: Add 1 thinly sliced red onion, pitted oil cured black olives and fresh mozzarella, sliced (or use the small bocconcini).